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Background: The suitability of ambulatory surgery in obese patients remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the "cutoff" value of body mass index (BMI) associated with increased likelihood of hospital readmissions within the first 24 hours of surgery in patients undergoing ambulatory hernia repair.Materials and Methods: The study used data from the 2012-2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement (ACS-NSQIP). Cochran Armitage trend tests were conducted to assess progression in rates hospital readmissions across categories of patient BMI. The minimum p-value method, Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness of fit tests, logistic regression, and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to investigate the cutoff of patient BMI indicative of increased likelihood of readmissions.Results: A total of 214,125 ambulatory hernia repair cases were identified. Of those, 908 patients (0.42%) had an unexpected hospital admission within the first 24 hours after surgery. The readmission rates did not significantly increase across the categories of BMI. However, some of the reasons for readmission significantly differed by BMI category. Logistic regression analysis revealed no statistically significant association between BMI and hospital readmissions (odds ratio [95% Cl], 0.96 [0.91-1.02] P = .179). An optimal BMI threshold predictive of an increased likelihood of hospital readmissions was not identifiable by any of the statistical methods used.Conclusions: Although reasons for readmission differed by BMI category, there is no clear cutoff value of BMI associated with increased hospital readmission within the first 24 hours after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: To compare the overall characteristics and perioperative outcomes in morbidly obese and nonobese patients undergoing ambulatory surgery in the United States. Design: Retrospective, propensity-matched cohort study. Setting: Academic medical center. Measurements: The association between duration of surgical procedures, postoperative complications, and unplanned hospital admission was assessed in a propensity-matched cohort of morbidly obese and nonobese patients derived from the 2006 National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery. Main Results: Only 0.32% of the ambulatory procedures were performed on morbidly obese patients. The morbidly obese were significantly younger but had a higher burden of comorbidities, were more likely to undergo the procedure in hospital-based outpatient departments (HOPD; 80.1% vs 56.5%; P = 0.004), and had significantly shorter procedures than the nonobese (median [interquartile range], 28 [21-38] vs 42 [22-65]min; P b 0.0001). The incidences of postoperative hypertension, hypotension, hypoxia, cancellation of surgery, and unplanned hospital admissions did not differ significantly between groups. Similarly, adjusted rates of delayed dischargewere similar in morbidly obese and nonobese patients (odds ratio [OR], 0.46; 95%confidence interval [CI], 0.18 - 1.15; P = 0.09). In contrast, morbid obesity was associated with decreased odds of postoperative nausea and vomiting (OR, 0.27; CI, 0.09 - 0.84; P = 0.01). Conclusions: In 2006 in the U.S., the prevalence of ambulatory surgery in the morbidly obese was low, with most of the procedures being performed in the HOPD facilities, suggesting a conservative patient selection. The incidence of adverse postoperative outcomes and delayed discharge, as well as unplanned hospital admission after ambulatory surgery in the morbidly obese, was similar to that reported in the nonobese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recovery care after ambulatory surgery is in a state of flux. There is increasing emphasis on rapid discharge home after ambulatory surgery. Discharge after surgery should be based on clinical criteria rather than based on time. Recent studies suggest that the insistence on oral intake and voiding before discharge is unnecessary and can delay discharge. This article reviews the recent developments in the recovery process after ambulatory surgery. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Study Objective: We examined the association of body mass index (BMI) with hospital admission, same-day complications, and 30-day hospital readmission following day-case eligible joint arthroscopy.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: Multi-institutional.Patients: Adult patients undergoing arthroscopy of the knee, hip or shoulder in the outpatient setting.Intervention: None.Measurements: Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program dataset from 2012 to 2016, we examined seven BMI ranges: normal BMI (≥20 kg/m2 and <25 kg/m2), underweight (<20 kg/m2), overweight (≥25 kg/m2 and <30 kg/m2), Class 1 and 2 obese (≥30 kg/m2 and <40 kg/m2, reference variable), and severe obesity, which we divided into the following BMI ranges: ≥40 kg/m2 and <50 kg/m2, ≥50 kg/m2 and <60 kg/m2, and ≥60 kg/m2. The primary outcome was hospital admission. Secondary outcomes included same-day postoperative complications and 30-day hospital readmission. We performed multivariable logistic regression and reported odds ratios (OR) and their associated 95% confidence interval (CI) and considered a p-value of <0.05 as statistically significant.Main Results: There were a total of 99,410 patients included in the final analysis, in which there was a 2.6% rate of hospital admission. When compared to class 3 obesity, only those with BMI ≥50 kg/m2(OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.18-2.01, p = 0.005) had increased odds of hospital admission. There were no differences in 30-day hospital readmission or same-day postoperative complications.Conclusion: We found that only patients with BMI ≥50 kg/m2 had increased odds for same-day hospital admission even when patient's comorbid conditions are optimized, suggesting that a BMI ≥50 kg/m2 may be used as a sole factor for patient selection in patients undergoing joint arthroscopy. For patients with BMI <50 kg/m2, we recommend that BMI alone should not be solely used to exclude patients from having joint arthroscopies performed in an outpatient setting, especially since this patient group makes up a significant proportion of joint arthroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to higher transthoracic impedance, obese patients may be less likely to be successfully defibrillated from ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) arrest. However, the association between patient body mass index (BMI), defibrillation success, and survival outcomes of VT/VF arrest are poorly understood.Methods: We evaluated 7110 patients with in-hospital VT/VF arrest at 286 hospitals within the Get With The Guidelines(®)-Resuscitation (GWTG-R) Multicenter Observational Registry between 2006 and 2012. Patients were categorized as underweight (BMI<18.5kg/m(2)), normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9kg/m(2)), over-weight (BMI 25.0-29.9kg/m(2)), obese (BMI 30.0-34.9kg/m(2)), and extremely obese (BMI≥35.0kg/m(2)). Using generalized linear mixed regression, we determined the risk-adjusted relationship between BMI and patient outcomes while accounting for clustering by hospitals. The primary outcome was successful first shock defibrillation (a post-shock rhythm other than VT/VF) with secondary outcomes of return of spontaneous circulation, survival to 24h, and survival to discharge.Results: Among adult patients suffering VT/VF arrest, 304 (4.3%) were underweight, 2061 (29.0%) were normal weight, 2139 (30.1%) were overweight, and 2606 (36.6%) were obese or extremely obese. In a risk-adjusted analysis, we observed no interaction between BMI and energy level for the successful termination of VT/VF with first shock. Furthermore, the risk-adjusted likelihood of successful first shock termination of VT/VF did not differ significantly across BMI categories. Finally, when compared to overweight patients, obese patients had similar risk-adjusted likelihood of survival to hospital discharge (odds ratio 0.786, 95% confidence interval 0.593-1.043).Conclusions: There was no significant difference in the likelihood of successful defibrillation with the first shock attempt among different BMI categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several letters to the editor in response to the article "Trends and Outcomes of Malignant Hyperthermia in the United States, 2000 to 2005," by E.B. Rosero and colleagues in a previous issue.